Tory figures accused senior figures in their own party of using polarising language to stoke anger over immigration even before the recent unrest, while warning that too many Conservatives had “turned a blind eye” to a shift to the right.
The criticism comes at a time when fears are growing on the liberal wing of the party that the election of the party leader could push the party even further into populist policies aimed at attacking Reform UK.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak, who remains leader of the Tories, was in the US last week and has not commented since last weekend on the violence or on claims by X owner Elon Musk that Britain will have a “two-tier police force” and an “inevitable” civil war.
Some rioters held up signs reading “Stop the boats.” Sunak had used this slogan during the election campaign to demonstrate that he was taking action against illegal channel crossings.
Robert Jenrick, one of the leading candidates for the Conservative leadership, was criticised for saying that police should “immediately arrest” any protester shouting “Allahu Akbar”, the Arabic expression for “God is great”.
Jenrick, who stands by his comments, was immediately criticised by Mel Stride, a rival for the party leadership, who said the suggestion to criminalise the words Allahu Akbar across the board was unwise and insensitive.
Long-serving figures from the party’s liberal wing are now publicly expressing their deep concern about the party’s direction.
Timothy Kirkhope, a former immigration minister and Tory peer, said his party was “unrecognisable from when it came into government after the 2010 general election. And many in my party have ignored this shift to the right.”
Lord Kirkhope said the desire to become a “reform light” during the election campaign risked another backlash. “As a former immigration minister, I know only too well the sensitivities surrounding migration and refugee issues and the importance of language,” he wrote for the observer“Some thought it was politically expedient to mix the issues of legal immigration and asylum seekers.
“The current situation of social unrest, the likes of which this country has not seen for a long time, is deeply worrying. The role of divisive rhetoric, including from the previous government, has certainly not improved the situation. ‘Stop the boats’ was one of the slogans of the insurgents and this is a most regrettable result.”
Kirkhope also urged like-minded Conservatives to have their say. “Any attempt to ‘unite the right’ by merging or joining forces with Reform UK could not only undermine social cohesion but also put my party on the path to electoral defeat from which it may never recover,” he warned.
Alistair Burt, a former Conservative foreign secretary, joined in his intervention. “As tempting as it may be, trying to reduce complex policy to a snappy slogan that appeals to a section of one’s supporters is not always successful and can backfire,” he said.
“And sometimes such tactics are downright dangerous. For example, those who seek to abuse the law for a perfectly legitimate purpose with which one may disagree are branded as ‘left-wing lawyers.’ This sets off a chain of events that makes them or the law a target for attacks, rather than dealing more effectively with serious problems while in government.”
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Former Home Secretary and Conservative Party leadership candidate Priti Patel condemned “left-wing lawyers” and “do-gooders” in a 2020 speech.
This weekend she also suggested that there was a perception of a two-tier police force that could undermine public trust.
The idea of a two-tier police force – the claim that white workers are treated differently to members of ethnic minorities – has been dismissed as a myth by the police. The offices of some immigration lawyers were among plans shared online by the far-right last week as possible locations for their rallies. The legal profession was repeatedly targeted by the previous government for its alleged role in thwarting Tories’ attempts to crack down on illegal border crossings.
Addressing the candidates for the Tory leadership, Burt urged them not to “engage in divisive options” but instead to demonstrate their competence, decent leadership qualities and unity to an electorate that demands these qualities.
Stephen Hammond, another former minister and One Nation politician who left Parliament at the last election, said it was the duty of politicians to be more careful in their choice of words.
“Politicians have a particular duty to think about what they say and how they say it,” he said. “Language is very important and we also have to consider the historical context of language, in terms of how it has been used in the past to inflame and exacerbate certain issues.”
“To those Conservative Party members who think that imitating reform will win the general election, I would say that in reality this is a path to a prolonged period of opposition.”
A Tory source said: “We will certainly not apologise for trying to stop people from entering the country illegally.”
